Surgery For Trans Adolescents: The Laws In Switzerland

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) The Swiss parliament is discussing a ban on gender reassignment surgery for minors. However, the laws in Switzerland are still liberal. We explain what rights parents and children have. This content was published on September 23, 2025 - 10:10 10 minutes

I write about demographic developments, societal trends and debates in Switzerland. I joined SWI swissinfo after 15 years at a local newspaper in Zurich.

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The issue was launched in Switzerland by Zurich Health Minister Natalie Rickli from the right-wing Swiss People's Party. In July she called for a national law banning gender reassignment surgery for minors and allowing puberty blockers only for scientific studies.

Now her party colleague Nina Fehr Düsel, also from canton Zurich, has submitted a corresponding motion in Bern. Parliament will therefore have to decide on a ban on puberty interventions in minors.

The issue is ideologically charged, but it affects only a small group. Gender reassignment surgery on minors has increased in Switzerland recently, but is at a low level.

The newspaper 20 Minuten writesExternal link , citing the federal government, that the number of operations increased from seven to 32 between 2018 and 2023. These were all breast operations.

Gender dysphoria refers to the suffering that arises when the gender assigned at birth does not match the gender identity experienced.

Transition refers to the entire process of social (adaptation of clothing, pronouns), legal (administrative change of gender) and/or medical (surgical or hormonal) gender reassignment of a trans person.

Puberty blockers are drugs that temporarily stop or delay physical puberty and are intended to give adolescents time to think about their gender identity without irreversible physical changes (e.g. voice change, breast development) becoming more pronounced.

Hormone therapy is the medical treatment with sex hormones (e.g. testosterone or oestrogen) with the aim of harmonising physical characteristics with the perceived gender.

Torsoplasty refers to surgical procedures on the chest, usually to remove the breast (mastectomy) or reshape it (breast reconstruction). The shape of the breast can be corrected later, but the procedures are considered irreversible because they change the breast structure. A mastectomy, for example, leads to the loss of the ability to breastfeed.

Genital operations include the construction of a vagina for trans women (neovagina) or, in the case of trans men, the construction of a penis (phalloplasty) or the lengthening of the clitoris to form a small penis (metoidioplasty). There are also procedures on the testicles, urethra, ovaries and uterus.

To date, there is no specific law in Switzerland that regulates the treatment of adolescents with gender dysphoria. The legal framework is complicated, and practice is not standardised.

So what applies today, what rights do parents and children have and what is the treatment practice? Here are answers to the most important questions.

Who decides on gender reassignment, the parents or the child?

That depends on the individual case. In Switzerland, children and teenagers can make their own decisions about medical interventions, even against their parents' wishes. This principle also applies to gender reassignment surgery. However, the prerequisite is that they are capable of judgement.

What does 'capable of judgement' mean in relation to gender reassignment surgery?

The term is relative. The capacity of judgement depends on personal maturity as well as the medical measure, and its assessment is subject to medical clarification.

There is no legally binding age limit at which the capacity for judgement is assumed. However, the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences specifies key values in its medical-ethical guidelinesExternal link .

According to these guidelines, a minimum age of seven is appropriate for minor medical decisions. For simple interventions, 12, and for complex treatments, 16, are considered the reference points. Sex reassignment surgery and the administration of puberty blockers fall into this third category.

Does gender reassignment surgery require the capacity of judgement?

The National Ethics Committee issued extensive recommendations External link on the treatment of minors with gender dysphoria in 2024.

According to these recommendations, irreversible measures, i.e. gender reassignment surgery, always require the affected person to have capacity of judgement. Even if the parents would agree, those affected must wait with an intervention until they are considered capable of judgement in the specific case.

The administration of puberty blockers, on the other hand, is considered reversible and is possible before the person reaches the age of judgement. The prerequisite here is that the person concerned wants this, that the parents consent and that there is a medical indication.

The rate of trans people who regret an intervention is low, but the study situation is not yet optimal. Nadja Brönimann told us what it's like to regret transitioning:

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